Thursday, August 17, 2017

The museum's special exhibit, entitled "Two Million Years of Migration," shows that ultimately we're all migrants. It also reveals that today's migration routes are uncannily similar to those from thousands of years ago. One route that seems to always have played a central role leads from the Middle East via present-day Turkey to eastern Europe. "Our objective is to show that migration is an intrinsically human phenomenon going back millions of years," said Gerd-Christian Weniger, the director of the Neanderthal Museum. The reasons for migrating have changed. Whereas the early hunters followed their prized herds, people nowadays flee the wars and poverty of their home countries. Still, "The development and the evolution of man are closely intertwined with migratory movements," Weniger added. "The mobility of man and changes in his environment are part of the picture. Considering these facts, simply closing off borders cannot be a solution to the present refugee crisis, Weniger claimed.